Acog Style

Weight Gain And Pregnancy: Not Always A Good Mixture

Because I am the only girl among the three siblings, I had the luxury of being tagged along by my mother everytime she goes shopping. I remember when I was still single I used to be very conservative. I’d shy away from fashionable dresses that expose so much of my skin and those that fit a little tighter in order to give more exaggeration to my body figure. “Take time and enjoy wearing these clothing styles while you still can”, my mother said. “You won’t have that same waistline again when you get married and have kids!”

Well I guess she’s right. Now that I’m pregnant, I can see that I am getting heavier everyday. I need to adjust my maternity pants one hole further every week. I gained so much weight. I fear the consequence of not being able to shed off this extra weight after I give birth. I wonder if I will become like my mother, who from a petite skinny girl transformed to a short and plump woman after childbirth.

Weight gain during pregnancy is of course, normal. But what is the basis for us to say that it is normal? Some sources say that average weight gain during the first trimester of pregnancy is at around 5-8 pounds a week while 1 pound per week is expected during the second and third trimesters. Since these are just mere approximations, the most reliable measure of weight-related problems is the BMI, or Body Mass Index.

Body Mass Index can simply be derived by dividing your weight in kilograms over the square of your height in meters (BMI= kg/meter²). The prepregnancy BMI of a woman needs to be determined in order to know the normal weight gain expected during the pregnancy. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), for underweight women with prepregnancy BMI 29 kg/m², weight gain should be at least 15 lbs. From the study conducted by Power ML, et. al. in the Department of Research of ACOG, 82% of the 900 U.S. Ob-Gyne respondents use BMI to assess for obesity and to counsel their patients about weight control, diet and physical activity.

Therefore by just knowing your BMI, you have an idea if your weight gain during your pregnancy is way beyond normal. The good thing is you can do something about it! The idea is that preventing too much weight gain can actually help you lessen the burden of getting back in shape after giving birth. Keeping your eyes on the scale does not mean compromising your baby’s nutritional status as long as you’re within the normal weight values. Sometimes, all it takes for us to do is to decrease the quantity of food intake, like limiting unnecessary simple sugars in the diet (sweets and desserts, for example) and increasing the quality of the food that we should eat like foods rich in protein, iron, folate, calcium, and other vitamins/minerals. In fact, 80% of obstetricians who responded to the study mentioned above reported counseling their patients about weight control and 84% about physical activity to their obese pregnant patients. So, work with your health care provider to determine what’s right for you.

So why do I care getting back in shape after giving birth? Personally, I’m not so concerned of being able to wear those tight-fitting clothes which my mother predicted I would never be able to wear again. There’s more to that. My motivation changed when I learned that failure to lose those excess weight 6 months after pregnancy would mean a very significant correlation to long-term obesity and medical complications such as insulin resistance and hypertension. It is the long-term diseases that accompany obesity that we should be very vigilant of. No mother in this world would be happy to know that, just when she’s having the time of her life with her kids, she is slowly developing several irreversible medical illnesses because of her failure to control her weight during and after pregnancy.

References:

* http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pregnancy-weight-gain/PR00111
* http://www.ehow.com/how_8934_l-body-mass.html * http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/576108
* http://www.medscape.com/medline/abstract/16903839

About the Author

They say your kid is a reflection of you. Visit
Gagazine.com

to learn how to raise a better child by raising a better parent (YOU)
first with Gagazine’s
pregnancy advice and parenting tips
.

King Arms Red Dot ACOG Style Airsoft Sight Review

EOTech 512.A65/1 Tactical HOLOgraphic AA Batteries Weapon Sight $376.34 EOTech’s most popular holographic weapons sight, the Model 512 is perfect for people who want the best in close-quarters-combat speed and versatility but don’t need night vision. The Model 512 sports a revolutionary sighting system based on advanced holographic technology. The design works by using laser light to illuminate a holographic pattern embedded in the heads-up display window. When the sh…

NcStar Mark III Tactical P4 Sniper 3-9X42/Scope Adaptor Mount/Red Dot Combo Package (STP3942G/D) $199.00 NcSTAR Ultimate Sighting System for universal tactical ops! Dependable sighting for everything from close-quarter battles to long-distance “hits”! What a combination of pure sighting sizzle by famous NcSTAR! With this Ultimate Sighting System, you get all the benefits of a Mark III 3-9×42 mm Tactical Scope, coupled with the advantage of a back-up Red Dot Reflex Sight. The Mark III Scope includes a…

BARSKA 1×30 IR M-16 Electro Sight Riflescope $102.03 Barska 1×30 mm IR M16 Electro Sight Scope… optimal for instant and accurate target acquisition. Built for advanced combat arms and fitted with a tactical reticle, the rugged Barska Electro Scope is ideal for scanning and targeting on the move. Scope features unlimited eye relief, allowing you to clearly see through now matter the distance between your eye and the lens… great for pressure-packe…

Leapers Golden Image 30mm Red/Green Dot Sight, Integral Weaver Mount $36.95 An adjustable illumination knob on the ocular tube lets you select different levels of brightness for diverse weather and light conditions. This quick-aim electronic dot sight with red and green dual illumination, from UTG, lets you quickly acquire and sight in on downrange targets. An integrated Weaver mounting deck means you can easily affix the scope to most weapons, and a flip-open lens c…